From 40k, a Harlequins day?
by White-tiger-lost-angel
Summary: A brief look into one of the most mysterious armies in the 40k Universe


This story may not be technically correct in terms of the dance, im not so up to date with the harlequin story as i am with the army itself.

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"_We are the story tellers, the legend keepers, creatures of the warp. Dark and light in an endless dance"_

It was all I could do to keep going; the steps in my mind were vivid and glowing with colour, as they were in real life.

Unseen by our brethren the steps were marked out by our shadowseer, sparkling in the light from the close moon. In all the craftworlds halls I have entered since this journey began, since I was taken from my homeworld, this was the most beautiful.

My fellow harlequins danced as if there were no tomorrow, and who knows there would be?

I could feel the ancestors, drawn from their spirit stones crowding in the network that ran, fine as lace inside the clear panels of the hall. I took a moment to wonder about my spirit stone. I did not fear for it, or even shudder... I knew what would have happened to it. As soon as the harlequins took me it would have been shattered, its clear shards laid to rest in the black pool guarded for eternity by the spirits.

The dance had moved on during my musings, changing and whirling in the dimmed lights. The dancers represented stars now, slow and graceful they wove in the darkness. The dancers multiplied until nearly the entire troupe was on stage, dancing in the slow twirl of the galaxy, representing the might of the elder at their peak. The audience leant forward drinking in the sight.

Then the harlequins began to fight, a few killed each other, some argued, a small group tortured another. In the corner a male stalked a female. As they 'died' their souls flew from them to a dark corner, going to rest in the warp, the corner closest to me.

There was a crack of red lightening and a peal of groaning thunder. I was in the centre of the cloud and the shadowseer made sure that the lightening showed up odd features.

More of the troupe died and the storm grew worse, the lightening and thunder almost deafening in the silence of the hall. The still 'living' harlequins backed away from the still expanding cloud. Then thunder went silent.

With a bang the cloud around me suddenly contracted, allowing my form to be outlined. I leapt onto the stage with a snarl, almost touching the front row of the audience as I roared in their faces. Some screamed, whilst others froze. I took a deep breath, my first, and the elder on stage collapsing as their souls were sucked from them in the show. I laughed; it was a laugh of menace of evil, not of joy.

Quick as a flash I picked up the dancer beside me, she struggled dramatically before fainting and going limp. I raised my arms up and danced, danced the dance of death, fallen dancers hung limply their bright robes turning grey twisting between the now panicked stars. Death jesters joined me as helpers to the fear. I felt my costume expand as I "ate" the life forces around me, I knew that soon the real essence of the dance would begin, and once it started it could not stop.

Some of the audience were sobbing at the death of their race; the spirits pulsed angrily at memories.

The storm was back, a whirling red blur I could hear the terror coming from it. The terror that gave the rip its name.

They faded, becoming a distant sound as the thirst entered me. I was he now, the one who thirsts, the eater, and I knew it. I moved slowly, sluggish in my expanded state, but I could not stop eating.

The stage went black now, the only sounds the occasional screams. The troupe was back, each dressed in elaborate costumes. They represented our gods, our dead gods.

They looked tiered and weak, and each scream made them flinch. I rose behind them as they stared unseeing into the audience and delicately choked the life out of the nearest.

I carried on death jesters appearing on stage as I danced a slow orgy through our gods. Then there was only two. "**Kaela Mensha Khaine" **I whispered my voice remnant of dry dark places. We were honored to have a Harlequin avatar with us, he had heard I was traveling nearby and joined us for a true representation of the dance.

He lifted his bloody hand and we fought, I trying to grip his head, and he attempting to slay me with his sharpened claws. Neither could best each other, and eventually we paused panting at one another. There was a roar I recognised as the shadowseers making, "MINE" it rumbled. I threw up my thin arms in angrier and screamed defiance "MINE!" I yelled a large black shape appeared it left red traces in the air as it moved towards me; it grabbed the avatar and began to drag it away.

"MINE" I screamed reaching for it, as I did the shadow representation of Khorne turned and struck me. He missed, but as he did the avatar slipped away into the dark, the last you saw was his shadow fragment into hundreds of pieces. Khorne growled angrily and disappeared.

As I turned to search for more to eat there was a flash, something appeared in front of me. The bright colours hurt my dark eyes and the creature pointed at me and LAUGHED.

I felt rage build up as I played the God, inside I knew it was the greater harlequin, leader of our troupe, But the God had me and I wanted his death, a gods pride is terrible, to behold and control.

He had gone; I spun looking for him. I heard the manic laughter and saw the laughing one point and laugh at me, her face a blend of the laughing ones colours. I ate her soul, only to find it was a copy of me, The laughing one was gone again, behind me in another laughing gods face, again I ate him, and again for the next.

The laughing god finally appeared before me in his own form, tears ran down his face from laughter, and he was sweating from the effort, he was tiered, but stood triumphant, as if he had won.

I felt my anger grow and I began to run towards him, there was a pain, a pain so immense that I could not move, I groaned, one long note of agony and fell to the floor. I knew I was defeated, defeated by my own greed, I mourned myself and I returned from where I came….but I would return….I hunger, I hunger….

Blinking I realised the audience was clapping, some had tears still running down their faces, children who had been kept at the back rushed to the front to get a closer look at the costumes of the performers, after all who knew if we would ever return to this craftworld? Even to this edge of the galaxy.

Suddenly our shadowseer stiffened, he was surrounded by a group of spiritseers who after a few moments stiffened too. They nodded and separated, ours, an elder by the name of Misu walked with purpose to wards our master Rekal.

"There is a host of chaos attacking a planet near here, we must go"

I heard nothing more of that conversation; I used my phase field to jump to our ship, jumping over the troupe master who had been guarding the ship I started the engines, nodding at my master when he appeared beside me.

"Everyone on board?" I asked tonelessly

He nodded "you got here fast"

"Always"

I hit the coms button "attention all, prepare for battle"

With that done we were gone, a trail of space dust.

From above the army looked so small I spotted the leader, a thousand sons warlock, and his retinue, the rest were of little notice for me, the troupe would take care of them.

"You see what to do?" my master asked, ever since I had begun my training he asked me this, I simply nodded.

He pressed the comlink on his helmet "Let's make them dance"

Our deathjesters appeared first, phasing into the field and shooting at the tanks with their brightlances, in the explosion that followed the troupes and our shadowseer phased down. Then I and the master appeared.

The troupe separated, dancing a trail of death behind and in front of them. I danced towards my target, a cut hamstring here; a throat there cleared my path. My brethren would kill them if they were still alive, I had a target, they did not.

Reaching the honour guard I decided to make their lives complex, I turned up my rictus mask as well as the others, combining them into one and roared at the squad. They took a step back; I grabbed the nearest one, projecting onto him his worst fears, pains, the things that lurked at the back of his dreams. I dropped him; the warrior had had a heart attack.

I smiled at the rest of the squad; the warlock was preparing to throw spells at me, which would not do. Immediately I began a frenzied death dance, slashing, stabbing and shooting skilfully avoiding the spells. One sizzled past, brushing my arm as my bio-ammunition went into the guard beside the warlock, he screamed as his cells exploded, throwing the warlock to the floor.

I held the creature that had once been a man _pucker up_ I thought silently and gave him a harlequin's kiss.

When his eyes had rolled back I dropped the corpse, and turned. A corpse lay behind me without its head, behind that my master leaning on his sword.

"You are injured" My shoulder was a bloody pulp, I couldn't feel any pain I simply nodded

I murmured, prodding my shoulder to try and figure out how damaged it was, stretching my arm I felt a crack as and shoulder clicked back into place. A harlequin beside me moved suddenly and threw up.

"You did well solitaire"

"Thank you"

"Doesn't that hurt?" it was one of the younger troupees she was called Saray, I knelt down to her level "I am soulless, emotionless I feel nothing, pain included" with that I stood and walked to the ship. Hearing the master speak "leave him alone, he gets like that sometimes, stop crying Saray he meant you no offence, it's hard to remember what you lost……." I closed the door behind me.

Reaching into the cabinet I took care of my wounds binding them. Hard to remember what I lost…..I lost too much but I was needed, a solitaire was needed…I remember them taking my soul, taking my emotions, waking up unafraid even though I was cut open, as implants were being installed.

"_Hard to remember what you lost….." _his voice was echoing in my mind, I sat in the darkness, listening to the webway.

"_We are the story tellers, the legend keepers, creatures of the warp. Dark and light in an endless dance"_

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_Let me know what you think :-) _


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